


'Taylor-made'

by marmolady



Series: Endless Ending [2]
Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: Choices, Choices: Stories You Play - Freeform, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-03-08 13:04:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18895195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmolady/pseuds/marmolady
Summary: Post-ending (Endless ending). A little heart-to-heart between two besties… some big revelations for Diego.





	'Taylor-made'

“Diego?”

The young man’s smile faltered at the look in Taylor’s eyes. “Are you… okay?”

Taylor felt a lump in her throat. The essence of her very being was so tightly linked to her dear friend, but finding the words, the right moment, to explain it… to explain  _everything_ , was very nearly killing her. Getting him on his own was difficult; he was rarely far from Varyyn and had been doing his all to keep everyone’s spirits up in the wake of the destruction of their world. Finally, though, everyone had dispersed after their usual communal dinner, and Diego had sat himself beneath a shady tree at the edge of the beach. As Taylor had approached him, he’d been scrawling notes, planning a book that no one might ever read. Nervously, she sat down beside him.

Diego offered a warm hand on her shoulder. “You’re not alone, Taylor. You know we’re all… kinda broken right now.”

Her hand placed on his, Taylor managed to collect herself. “There’s something I’ve gotta tell you. About me. You’ve gotta know… you’ve gotta…”

Diego carefully sat his friend down and looked into her pained face with an encouraging smile. “ _You_ ,” he said, “are my best friend. You’re the Han to my Chewie. You can talk to me about anything.”

 _God, I love him._ Unable to suppress a smile, she shook her head affectionately. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask about how hairy your face’s gotten. Chewbacca is it? My guess was more, you know, the sparse beginnings of a Latino Jack Sparrow.”

He chuckled appreciatively.

“But,” Taylor continued, having taken a deep breath. “this isn’t an easy thing to say.” She reached entwined her fingers in Diego’s. “I’m going to tell you everything.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Diego’s mind raced. His breaths came out ragged as he searched his memories, in denial. How had… how had she never really been there? A veil had been lifted, a reality of desperate loneliness revealing itself. As hard as he tried, Diego could not bring clarity to his years of memories with Taylor. The other details of his life held true, but she was just a blur, a wish that had been clung to, a patch that had been sewn over an aching gap in his life. Tears streaked his cheeks and his body convulsed. Years of sadness flooded back to him all at once, and for several long minutes he was lost in the storm. As his senses slowly returned to him, Diego looked back to his side, seeing worry all over Taylor’s face. Instinctively, he snaked his arm around her. He’d felt so alone… but she had been alone too. How could anyone understand how she felt about herself, her place in the world?

“H-how long have you known? Did you always…?”

Taylor shook her head. “Not always. It dawned on me slowly… more and more everything before the plane became a haze. There was so much going on I didn’t concentrate on what I’d come- what I  _thought_ I’d come- from. But then when I actually tried… nothing. I thought I was going crazy… I thought it was another screwed up trick of La Huerta, but eventually the pieces fell into place.” She looked into Diego’s face pleadingly. “I’m still me,” she sputtered, voice trembling. “I’ve never… I’ve never tried to deceive you. Everything I’ve ever said to you, everything I’ve ever felt… it’s still real.”

Realising his cheeks were wet, Diego wiped his face. “That… that must have been  _insane._  And Vaanu wanted you… to, to go?”

“Yes, and yes. I should have done. When the moment came I just… I just couldn’t. Estela was hurting so bad and I couldn’t… I’m so sorry, Diego. I’m so, so, so sorry.”

Slowly processing, Diego gazed out over the beach to the sea, watching the gentle crash of the waves. How close he’d come to losing his most precious friend… it felt unreal. It was so much to digest; he was swamped.

“I’m not ready to… I’m not ready to tell everyone. I’m a coward- I know it- but I’m not ready to see it in their faces… knowing I could have brought their families back.” Taylor threw her head back. “Shit, I’m as twisted as Rourke.  _Worse._ ”

Loyal to the hilt, Diego held his friend even closer. “You’re a good person, Taylor. You were literally created to be a good person. You’re only hu-. “ He cut off abruptly.

“Human?”

“Well, yeah. Sorry. This… this is a lot to take in.”

“You’re telling me.” Taylor looked back at her hands, which twisted in her lap. “Estela knows,” she said. “She knew back when we were up on the roof. I really don’t know what I’d have done without her. It’s just… every day I wake up, and for a split second I’m terrified she’ll realise that I was wrong-  _so_ wrong. And then I hate myself more for even thinking that she’d ever turn away from me. I think… I think Quinn suspects something. The connection she had with the Heart… I think she could sense something about me. But I just can’t say it.”

“That’s a hell of a burden for you to carry, even sharing with one person. I wish you’d told me-it’s okay, I’m not hurt or anything- I just wish you’d had another shoulder to lean on.”

Taylor hugged back. “My head’s been a whirl. Like a blender with the lid off. Mess everywhere. Hysterical screaming. But I’m… uh, not  _okay_ , that’s probably not even possible. Coping, I guess.”

“Well, I hope Estela’s been looking after you. I guess that’s why you’ve been MIA for a while… I assumed you were just making the most of the honeymoon period.” Diego wriggled his eyebrows teasingly.

“ _Oh, we have been_ ,” Taylor giggled, her cheeks suddenly very hot. “Variego, you’ve got nothin’ on Taystela. We are _hot._ But, yeah, we’ve been working through a lot together. It’s like we’re trapped in a cycle of falling apart and pulling one another up again. Always one of us holding our heads above the water. Rourke… changed the way Estela sees herself. Neither of us are who we thought we were.”

“You’re still the same Taylor. It’s not your fault you were put in an impossible situation. Rourke did this- not you.”

Her eyes immediately beginning to sting, Taylor shook her head. “I made the decision. No one made me do it. It’s because of me that everyone is drowning in grief. I can tell myself that it was too much of a risk, that it made sense to focus on saving the lives of those of us who weren’t already lost, but… I need to fix this. It’s on me.”

Diego squeezed Taylor’s shoulder tight. “We  _all_ made a choice. Half of us chose to stay. Think about it- if anyone else-  _anyone_ \- told you they could bring the world right by sacrificing themselves, would you want them to do it?”

It was not as simple as that, Taylor knew. Everyone else had lost someone, lost their home, lost their future. Only she could walk away unmarked. She couldn’t say anything and found herself weeping.

“I think we’ve fixed it as best as we can,” said Diego, “And if it wasn’t for you, this would be Rourke’s world right now. I know it’s easy to say, sitting here safe, but what might he have done to it? He was insane. I think… maybe, this was kinder.”

“Maybe, but I’ve got to try.” Taylor roughly dried her eyes. “I’m going to go north. The MASADA Complex is still out there… Rourke was psychotic, but he was also a genius. There might be something, anything in there that might give a clue how to put things right. And,” Her voice shook, “if it comes to it, if there’s no other way…if it’s not too late, I’ll have to find a way to give myself back to Vaanu. Hit the reset button.”

Diego’s eyes filled with despair. “You can’t-“

“I don’t  _want_  any of this! I want to be a human being- I want to grow old with my wife, have a family, make a future with the people I care about. But I… it’s a last resort, and I’ve got to be prepared to do it if I can. Because I love you. All of you.”

For a long while, Diego sat in silence, his eyes misty as watched the waves lap at the sand. He felt a warm hand on his knee.

“Hey- if I can put the world back together, the memoirs you publish are gonna be  _mind-blowing._  Obviously, you’re gonna have to sell it as sci-fi if you don’t want to end up in an asylum. But think about it! A husband from a race born from the remnants of a human society  _and_ a best friend who’s an alien  _Taylor-made_ ” -Diego groaned, though he clearly appreciated the terrible joke- “to be exactly what you need in your life. Come on- this has gotta be the stuff little Diego’s dreams were made of!”

Diego grinned, but his smile didn’t go all the way to his eyes. A bittersweet swell of affection for his friend filled him up; the reality of their relationship had done nothing to dampen how he felt for her, but it physically pained him to try and comprehend the weight she’d been carrying. As he sniffed, Taylor pulled him into a hug.

“I’m sorry. About all… all of this,” she said. “I just want you to be happy. Just… don’t worry about me. I know that sounds stupid; you’re my friend, of course you’re gonna worry. But I know I’m on borrowed time- time I  _shouldn’t_ have, and I guess that means I’ve got to make it count. Maybe… maybe there really is nothing I can do. Maybe I had my one chance and I lost it. Maybe this is…  _it_.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. Where would we be without you? Dead, ten times over, that’s where. If this is the way things have to be… it’s okay. We’ve all got each other….” Diego trailed off, feeling all at once the knot of loneliness in his stomach that his false memories had hid from him. “I… I didn’t have  _anyone._ ”

“You do now.” Taylor smiled and leaned the side of her head against Diego’s. From the corner of her eye, she saw his expression brighten and she felt a weight lifted off her chest. If there was nothing more she could do, if she was just in denial, she’d be able to put one foot in front of the other. Just as long as she had her sweet, dorky Diego. He looked at her no differently. Same old Diego. Same old Taylor.

They held one another tight, watching the sunset. The fires on the horizon burned into Taylor as they always did, but the embrace of her loyal, indomitable, unconditionally big-hearted friend numbed the sting of her guilt. In seeming defiance to the ominous glow across the water, distant laughter carried across from The Celestial’s pool. More than likely, Raj had broken out the booze, and everyone would be in for another late night. Perhaps tonight she wouldn’t hide away again.

“Hey… hey, Diego? We should get a group together and trek up to MASADA soon. Everything Rourke’s got up there… there’s gonna be so much we should make use of now this is, you know, home now. Medical supplies and stuff. And I thought… I thought it might help Michelle if she’s got something to focus on. You know… purpose.” Again, that heavy guilt pressed upon Taylor’s chest. Hastily, she switched her focus.  _You can’t be what they need you to be if you’re falling apart._ “Estela never saw her mother’s office. It would mean a lot to her.”

“I’ll give you one thing; you’ve got a knack of seeking out people who need someone. You and Estela are  _adorable_ together.”

Taylor flushed. “ _Shut up!_ ” She elbowed him in the ribs, and he jabbed her back, giggling. “But, I’ll admit it, we are pretty cute. I guess I’ve got to give you  _little_  credit for giving me a push; you are most definitely the world’s best wingman.”

“My pleasure.” Diego winked.

“You know… there’s something I’ve forgotten to tell you… end of the world playing on my mind and all that…”

“Oh my god, what now? You’ve got a secret twin?  _I’ve_ got a secret twin? No, wait-“

“ _Diego_! Just listen, all right… this is gonna blow your mind. When I received the Endless’ memories, I saw flashes of a load of different timelines, yeah? Well, I saw something at MASADA. Somewhere in there, there is a -wait for it-  _Freaky. Friday. Machine_.” She punctuated each word with a pause, seeing her friend’s face contort with growing delight.

Diego jumped up, giving a strangled squeal, an almost inhuman sound. He threw his arms around Taylor’s neck. “Are you serious?  _Tell me_  you’re serious!”

Taylor’s eyes gleamed with ill-disguised mischief. “Shhhhhh!” she hissed. “Keep it down! April Fool’s Day coming up, I think we have unprecedented potential for shenanigans. I think we need to make sure we all keep laughing. I  _need_ it. You’ll check it out with me?”

“My friend…  _this_ , this here is why Vaanu made you for me!” Diego moved his arms down to Taylor’s middle and hugged her tight. He rested his head on her shoulder and just held her.

Taylor squeezed him back. Tears of mirth filled her eyes. She fit perfectly into Diego’s embrace; he was, after all, part of her. “I love you, Diego- you’re the best friend I could wish for.”

“I love you too.” He exhaled heavily. Him and his alien best friend… they were going to be all right.

 


End file.
